Vehicles carrying sand seized during the raid Berhampur: Seven sand-laden vehicles were seized by the police at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district on Thursday and five persons were arrested for allegedly transporting sand illegally from the Vansadhara river bed near Kashinagar.In a special drive to crack down on illegal transportation of sand, police carried out raids…

Koraput: A resolution demanding an immediate ban on new bauxite mining projects across Odisha, including the proposed mining at Mali Parbat in Koraput district, was unanimously adopted at the Koraput District Natural Resources Protection Conference organised on World Environment Day at Semiliguda on Friday. Participants alleged that successive governments had been indiscriminately granting mining leases…

Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief secretary Anu Garg on Friday asked the district administrations to ensure active public participation in a statewide outreach programme to mark the second anniversary of the state govt, beginning June 12.Chairing a virtual meeting with all the collectors, Garg reviewed preparations for the multi-tier events to be held from state to gram…

Berhampur: A constable, who was recently released on bail in a domestic violence case, allegedly attempted self-immolation at his home in Bijapur late on Friday evening.Asutosh Mrundangia, who works in motor vehicle department, Chhatrapur, was admitted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur with over 60% burn injuries.Though the exact reason for the incident…

Brics delegates witness a mock drill of a rescue operation at Ramachandi on Friday Puri: The delegates, attending the three-day Brics Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group technical meeting in Puri, on the concluding day on Friday, witnessed a live demonstration of life-saving operations in water-related accidents at Ramachandi estuary. Wearing life jackets, the delegates navigated…

CM Mohan Charan Majhi, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, interacts with the beneficiaries of a govt housing scheme Bhubaneswar: With the Mohan Charan Majhi-led state govt nearing two years in office, Odisha has empanelled seven leading institutions, including IIT Bhubaneswar and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), to conduct rapid and survey-based…

Berhampur: Berhampur railway station is set to get a facelift soon, as East Coast Railway has floated a tender for its redevelopment, costing Rs 182.57 crore in the first phase.The railways sanctioned Rs 300 crore for the development of the Berhampur railway station, one of the oldest stations on the Howrah-Chennai main line, in April….

Deputy CM KV Singhdeo goes around the mango festival in Bhubaneswar on Friday Bhubaneswar: Deputy CM and agriculture minister KV Singh Deo, while attending the state-level Mango Festival here on Friday, said Odisha must develop a distinct brand identity for its mangoes to boost farmers’ income and strengthen agricultural exports.The festival, jointly organised by ICAR-IIHR,…

Bhubaneswar: To meet the WHO-recommended standard of 9 square metres of green cover per person in the city, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday took up Miyawaki plantation over half an acre, planting 3,000 saplings in the identified heat zone at Hatishuni in Salia Sahi slum here.So far under Miyawaki, 75,000 trees have been…

Kendrapada: A 74-year-old woman was critically injured after crackers, illegally stored in her house at Ostarahat village under Marshaghai police station in Kendrapada district exploded on Thursday night. The impact of the explosion was so powerful that her six-roomed thatched house was completely burnt.It took the fire brigade three hours to douse the fire, said…